This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Tourism taking centre stage
28/06/2004
More than 300 leading international academics,
researchers, practitioners and policy makers involved in
tourism are in Scotland for the State of the Art II
Conference at Strathclyde University in Glasgow.
Tourism Minister Frank McAveety told delegates that by
sharing cutting-edge research and best practice
Scotland will be well placed to increase the quality of
visitor experience and achieve the national goal of growing
tourism by 50% over the next decade.
Mr McAveety said:
"Scotland has many wonderful assets to offer the
holidaymaker - from activity holidays against a spectacular
backdrop, to vibrant cities, world-renowned architecture
and built heritage, and world famous products.
"Our vision is to make Scotland a must-visit,
must-return destination. But part of succeeding in doing
this is to share ideas, research and best practice.
Scotland has to succeed in the competitive market of
tourism and that is why record investment in marketing has
been delivered and why we are streamlining our Tourism
Network to deliver for Scotland's key industry. It provides
opportunities for jobs and economic growth which is our key
objective in Scotland.
"We are also attracting new air routes into Scotland
thanks to the success of our Route Development Fund. This
will allow more people to come and see what Scotland has to
offer - and come back again.
"But it is vital that we hear about your professional
expertise, your research and your understanding. Tourism is
everyone's business and by learning about how things work
from others will help Scotland to fully realise the
economic and employment benefits that tourism can
bring."
Tourism State of the Art II conference was last held in
1994 in Glasgow. The 2004 conference will provide a forum
for academics, researchers, practitioners and policy makers
to share cutting edge research about all the aspects of
tourism and hospitality within the local and global
economy.
Tourism is one of Scotland's biggest business sectors.
Tourism is hugely important to the Scottish economy as it
is currently worth £4.5 billion a year and accounts for
around 215,000 jobs, or 8% of the Scottish total.